News of: Wednesday, 23rd of January, 2008

Front Page

Four Dhaka University (DU) teachers were released from prison last evening following a presidential mercy after three of them had been convicted by a court in the morning in the second case of emergency power rules (EPR) violation against them in connection with last August's campus unrest.

The four released teachers of Dhaka University (DU) yesterday strongly said they will continue to speak the truth fearlessly in future and nobody can stifle their voice against any wrongdoing as Dhaka University is the "conscience" of the nation.

Political leaders, legal experts, and civil society members yesterday said conviction of three Dhaka University (DU) teachers and their release on presidential clemency have undermined credibility of the legal process and showed the government's inept handling of the issue.

At least 46 educational institutions on health technologies have been operating illegally for the last two years with approval from inappropriate authorities, providing three-year diploma courses to around 6,000 students.

A Dhaka court yesterday ordered attachment of property of former Awami League lawmaker Sheikh Helaluddin and his wife Rupa Chowdhury in a case filed for handing in false wealth statements and building up assets through illegal means.

A team of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is expected to visit India in a week to bring back Bangladeshi twin brothers who were directly involved in the planning and execution of the August 21 grenade attack on an Awami League rally.

Detained former deputy minister Abdus Salam Pintu was sent to Dhaka Central Jail yesterday after he was produced before a Dhaka court on completion of his three-day remand in August 21 grenade attacks case.

A teenaged boy arrested last week on suspicion of involvement in former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto's assassination has told investigators that his next target was the US consulate in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

Setting aside the trial court order, the High Court yesterday asked it to recall a prosecution witness (PW-7) for cross-examination by the counsel for detained former Telecommunications minister Mohammad Nasim, facing trial in WorldTel scam case.

Editorial

The curtain has been all but drawn on the four cases filed against DU teachers and students with their release following acquittal, grant of clemency and quashing of charges. In one of the cases, in which charges were pressed against 25 students and outsiders, 18 have been absolved with the remainder seven yet to be let off.

Justice appears to have been done over the case of a woman brutalised during the Gujarat riots of 2002. Of course, as human rights groups in India have been saying all along, as many as 2,500 people were hacked, beaten or burnt to death in the riots. That means that there is yet a huge backlog the Indian judicial system needs to address if the questions raised over the riots are to be fully answered. But the fact that a court in Mumbai has now sentenced 11 Hindu men to life in prison for the gang rape of a pregnant young woman, Bilkis Bano, and has also punished a policeman for trying to divert the court of justice through falsifying evidence, is surely an encouraging sign.

General Moeen U. Ahmed has basically echoed the feelings of an entire country through speaking of the disfavour with which the modern world looks upon military rule. Or change that to martial law. The point here is that Bangladesh's army chief, busy playing a key role in reshaping political realities in the country, has expressed sentiments that soldier-officers in our part of the world have not, for years together.

Elections remain scheduled for February 18. There is scepticism whether polling will take place on that date. Sure, politics is involved in the doubt. But, generally, it seems that the elections will be held in time. Their prospects should be assessed, though doubts whether these elections will be free and fair are far more widespread.

The primary elements in marketing analysis of an agro-industrial project are (a) consumer analysis, (b) analysis competitive environment, and (c) marketing plan. Consumer analysis identifies needs of a product created by a complex interaction of physiological, sociological and psychological motives. It is necessary to divide consumers into groups or market segments. Geographic location often reveals ethnic or regional taste differences. Age and sex of consumers are two other common segmenting variables. Another variable is income level. Yet another market differentiation is between domestic and import consumers. Market segmentation identifies potential consumers and limits the agro-industrial project's options. Thus, it is necessary to select a segment based on competitive environment and the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

An observation by Indian team's trainer Gregory King coupled with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh's opinions might have prompted the selectors to drop Sourav Ganguly from the one-day squad for the forthcoming cricket tri-series.

Substitute Peter Crouch scored two minutes from time after Marlon Harewood's over-head kick and an own goal from Fabio Aurelio cancelled out Yossi Benayoun's opener to earn Liverpool a 2-2 draw against Aston Villa.

An all-round performance from Chamely Khatun helped Ansar and VDP move into the final of the Parachute Women Open Cricket tournament when they beat Abahani by 21 runs at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium yesterday.

Business

Banglalink has overtaken AKTEL as the country's second largest mobile phone operator, according to Bangladesh Telecommunication and Regulatory Commission (BTRC) whose new figures show the total number of mobile subscribers reached 34.37 million by the end of 2007.

With an economic slowdown looming large on the United States and appreciating Indian national currency rupee, Indian garment export is at the receiving end, according to the Confederation of Indian Apparel Exporters.

Local real estate company Xenovalley and Malaysian Service Master signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday to set up a power plant with a capacity of generating 100 megawatt electricity at a cost of US$100 million.

Grameenphone CellBazaar, an innovative market-access service of the mobile phone operator, has been nominated for the 3GSMA Global Mobile Awards 2008 in the category of 'Best Use of Mobile for Social & Economic Development', says a press release.

Turbulence roiled world stock markets again Tuesday, with Asian stocks down for a second day on fears of recession in the US. European stocks fell at the opening but then pared their losses in volatile trading.

Investors lost 6.55 trillion rupees (some 160 billion US dollars) yesterday within minutes of opening of the Bombay Stock Exchange, which was immediately suspended for an hour after the 30-share barometer index Sensex hit the circuit limit of 10 per cent.

Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, who is in Abu Dhabi to attend a conference of labour sending and receiving countries, held a bilateral meeting with his UAE counterpart on Monday evening, says a press release.

Election Commission (EC) should complete its work for delimiting the parliamentary constituencies by June so that the next general election could be held by December, said the speakers at a roundtable yesterday.

A six-day exhibition titled 'Devastated Coast' featuring 54 selected photographs of the staff photographers of the daily Prothom Alo on cyclone Sidr began in the port city yesterday with a view to raising mass awareness about the need of humanitarian approach in time of natural disaster.

Pakistan Navy Chief Admiral M Afzal Tahir yesterday paid courtesy call on the chiefs of three defence services of Bangladesh, when matters of mutual interest of the armed forces of the two countries came up for discussion.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members seized a huge amount of fake notes and equipment to produce forged notes at a house in the city's Turag area and arrested four people, including two women, yesterday.

National

With the spread of pneumonia and other cold-related diseases, three to four child patients have to share a bed at Nilphamari 100-bed Hospital while in absence of any child consultant, a doctor and two nurses at the ward are struggling hard to cope with the situation.

Casual workers of six state-owned jute mills in Khulna-Jessore industrial belt staged sit-in from 10am to 5pm yesterday in front of their project directors' offices to press for their five-point demand including payment of all arrears.

It is known to all of us that the last devastating floods and the recent cyclone Sidr have caused huge destruction of lives, properties and crops. We feel proud to say that possibly no other nation could have faced such natural calamities with so much courage and patience as the people of Bangladesh did. Historically, our people are used to living with disasters and they always rebuild their own economy for subsistence.

27 December 2007. It will be remembered as a day when an internationally acclaimed leader, the first woman head of state of an Islamic country, fell victim to the death blow of assassins. Who were they? Was it al-Qaeda, the obvious choice; someone from the government intelligence hierarchy or elements from her own party the PPP? Leaving aside the conspiracy theory, the blatant question is-- why did Benazir stood up through the sunroof of the car carrying her out of the just finished public meeting, waving to the people gathered outside the meeting venue at Liaquat Bagh Park.. Her death is an eerie reminder of the assassination of the first prime minister of Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan who was assassinated at the same venue.

Many commercial banks of our country offer locker facility to the customers in exchange of a particular annual charge based on the size of the locker. The customers also feel very safe to deposit their personal belongings, mainly gold-ornaments and other important documents in the banks' safe deposit lockers considering the tight security ensured by the bank. But the recent heist of heading off with gold ornaments and other valuables, breaking open 75 lockers in BRAC Bank's Dhanmondi branch, has startled the customers as to how safe their belongings kept in the safe deposits of the banks are.

I was greatly concerned to read that Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB) officials were allegedly involved in the frequent snapping of the country's lone fibre-optic cable connection to the information superhighway.

It is not out of a “crow's concern” that there is an anti-corruption campaign going on throughout the whole country. But it is a matter of great regret that in the midst of the drive "corruption" is still going on. On 3rd January, I went to buy tickets of the Dhaka-bound express train "Padma". But to my utter surprise, the man sitting at the ticket counter overcharged me by extra 5 taka for each ticket, which is altogether illegal.

An Amnesty International report released on 13 November says that women are being tortured for using headscarf in Tunisia. AI protests such oppression by the Tunisian government. There are instances when a woman was forced to take off her scarf, slapped in public and forced to wear indecent clothes. Another woman was forced to take off scarf and even sent to prison for not agreeing to do so. There are numerous other instances which remain undisclosed.

I'm a Bangladeshi citizen studying in State University of New York at Buffalo, United States of America. When it comes to good treatment an image of a big hospital with modern machinery and foreign educated doctors come in our mind. However, this image can be deceiving.

International

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf prepared for talks yesterday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy after urging Europe to stand by his crisis-ridden country and promising free and fair elections.

Israel eased a blockade of Gaza imposed in retaliation for militant rocket attacks, allowing in some food and fuel yesterday after the UN warned that international food aid to the impoverished territory may have to be suspended by the weekend.

Democratic presidential rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama accused each other of repeatedly and deliberately distorting the truth for political gain Monday night in a highly personal, finger-wagging debate that ranged from the war in Iraq to Bill Clinton's role in the campaign.

Iraq's parliament yesterday passed a law to change the Saddam Hussein-era flag, meeting the demands of Iraq's Kurdish minority who threatened not to fly the banner during a pan-Arab meeting in the Kurdish-run north next month.

Arts & Entertainment

A remarkable handicraft exhibition organised by Ecota Fair Trade Ltd. opened at Drik Gallery on January 21. In it one found varieties of displays ranging from bronze and wood wall hangings to superb silk quilts -- nakshi kantha -- with delicate stitches. One also saw pink, gold and red fabric bolts from various far-flung regions of the Chittagong Hill Tracts to sophisticated vegetable dye products from Aranya. Kumudini, Gram Mati and other well-known handicraft outlets.

On January 21, Padatik Natya Sangsad Bangladesh arranged a daylong event at the National Theatre stage, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, to mark its 30th anniversary. The event included an inaugural session, exhibition of props from the different productions of Padatik, a cultural programme, certificate giving ceremony and staging of the popular play, Jolbalika.

A public memorial programme for renowned dramatist Selim Al Deen was held at the Central Shaheed Minar on January 21. Shammilito Sanskritik Jote, a common platform for cultural organisations, arranged the event.

To celebrate its 11th anniversary, Bangladesh Writers Foundation arranged a programme at the Liberation War Museum Auditorium on January 21. Noted writer-translator Saleha Chowdhury was given the Writers Foundation Literary award 2007 at the event. Sinha M A Sayeed, Mizan Rahman, Tahmina Quraishi and Golam Mohammad received the Best Book Awards for their contribution to literature.

OP-ED

On January13, India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh paid an official three-day visit to China to boost relations with its neighbour. He met with both President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The Indian leader called engagement with China an "imperative necessity."

Ahealthy mind in a healthy body is a thing to pray for," said the great Roman satirist, Juvennal, about 2000 years ago. And to be healthy we must get, among other things, enough water to cater for the body's needs; and if the water is not sufficient and potable, we face health problems, diseases, and finally damage to the body's mechanisms.

It was a different day for the city dwellers. They had the opportunity to get away from their hectic and demanding lifestyle for a change and tickle their taste buds at the Pitha (rice cake) festival organised by Narigrantha Prabartana.

Star Chittagong

Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) has planned to complete the dredging and the excavation work by early February to widen around 30 canals to rid the city of waterlogging that causes immense suffering to the city dwellers and loss of properties frequently.